Flying under the Radar

When I am either with a potential client or busy with coaching or training I spend a lot of time doing myth-busting. We live in an age where there is just so much information out there and quite often a lot of it is contradictory. So just who do you believe?

I hope during my various blog posts you will understand the fundamentals and basic of online media and especially marketing using online media. From that you will far better discern the wheat from the chaff in the barrage of information you will see, read and hear.

Back in the early to mid 1990’s I had a boss who was excellent at his job, a great leader and motivator and a well respected man. He did not believe in attending Expo’s as he said there was no real return on invetsment but above all he said we needed to apply guerrilla tactics. He did not want us to attract attention from our competitors, to go out and find customers in stealth mode so to speak, in other words we needed to fly below the radar.

Fast forward to 2103, sitting in a meeting with a client who is busy launching a new range of products, they have since the inception of their business ‘flown below the radar’ and are already edgy at the increase of enquiries on their website as they believe a lot of it could be from competitors.

Here is the reality; we live in a highly connected world. If you have ever hooked onto a network, connected to the internet there is a virtual finger print of you out there. You are no longer invisible. So I say get over it and get out there and leverage the surge of social media to your advantage. The generations coming through are not afraid to share information, they are not afraid to offer their thoughts and opinions publicly. Social media is about growing the virtual word of mouth. Taking the discussions and advice, the chat in the pubs and clubs and around family braai’s and moving them along much quicker and to far more people, but with the same credibility as if it were person to person.

Our world is fast becoming one of online shopping for the working wife; students are using Whatsapp groups with their lectures to have real-time contact and discussion beyond class hours. Potential employees are thoroughly screened and checked out long before they set foot in an interview room. That is the world of 2013, augmented reality, live chats, multi-media and Smartphone’s.

The days of flying under the radar are past, it is time to make yourself visible, increase your footprint, be part of the social chatter, and make yourself seen and heard to the world – literally!

A systems engineering background together with a creative flair for design, a solid understanding of business principles and an unquenchable desire to explore new online technologies. A career that has already spanned 36+ years and still going strong.